2023 Salomon QST Blank Skis Review

Every few years a ski comes along that resets your expectations of what a ski can do. The Salomon QST Blank is one of those skis. You can feel it in your first couple turns, there is something different about this ski. It just works. Most skis take a couple of runs, even a couple of days, to figure out. Not the Blank. It’s like slipping into a pair of broken in Red Wing boots, they are instantly comfortable, and you skip the whole painful break in period. Just go ski...oh and smile. Like a lot cause you're going to have fun! So, it’s clear that we loved the ski, but if you’re ready to dive into the details, read our full Salomon Blank review below.
 

About the Skis

The Salomon QST line has been the stuff of freeride legend since its inception. Now, it welcomes a new member. Looking to fill in a slot between the pow-specific 118 and the all-mountain 106, Salomon turned to their stacked roster of pro skiers and gave them a blank slate to design the best freeride sticks possible. The result is the aptly named Salomon QST Blank Skis. With a 112mm waist, a snappy and stable feel, and a bomber construction, these skis are as well rounded as they come. They excel in soft snow, thrive on speed, and are as comfortable weaving trees and spinning off side-hits as they are gunning lines and stomping big drops. They're accessible, powerful, and simply excellent for any skilled jack-of-all-trades skier.

Technical Details

Coming with a 112mm waist width, the Blank is an all new shape for Salomon this season, slotting in between the now defunct QST 118 and the current 106. With the introduction of the Stance series last season Salomon’s engineers were able to get a bit more creative with this iteration of the QST, now that they had a series of skis that covered the more front-side focus of the all-mountain category. They elongated the rocker profile, added more tip taper, and tightened up the turn radius. Sticking with their tried and true C/FX Carbon Weave and Cork Damplifier for stability and torsionally rigidity. Double Sidewall construction adds a high-density layer of ABS underfoot for increased responsiveness and edge grip.

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Ride Impressions:

The versatility of the Salomon QST Blank is one of the most eye-opening things about it. While they don’t carve like a WC slalom ski or float like a full-on powder ski, they can do both and everything in between very well. Normally, when you start to creep in the 110+ waist width range, versatility is typically one of the biggest compromises you’re going to make. Skis in this range will float without issue in a foot or more of snow, but you’d normally want another ski in your quiver for when you're in between storm cycles or the forecasted ten inches ends up only being five. With the Blank, you won’t be left wanting.

The secret sauce to the Blank that makes it so versatile isn’t just its combination of a low/long rocker profile in the tip/tail with camber underfoot, there are plenty of skis that have that these days, Combining those attributes combined with a 17m turn radius and a 112mm waist width are fairly unique. Most skis at this waist width will have a turn radius that is closer to 20m, or more, which works great on big hairy descents but makes the skis feel sluggish just about everywhere else. The slightly tighter radius makes the Blank feel playful in just about all conditions.

Now before you go and claim that this tight of a radius will create a hooky feeling in choppy snow, that’s not the case. Salomon pulled the contact point further back so the tip plains and punches through the chop. I found them to be much more predictable than other skis in this category, giving me the confidence to go faster in conditions that I’d normally be a bit more cautious in. The other advantage to the pulled back contact point is you get the length for stability, but the effective edge keeps the ski manageable. Normally I’d ski the type of ski closer to a 180cm length, but the 186cm Blank felt perfect. I mounted these with Salomon Shift 13 and found this to be the perfect match. The theme of versatility only gets bigger with this pairing. The Shift bindings saves some weight over a traditional alpine binding and skis just as well. Normally I’d be checking the weather the night before a tour and then rechecking in the morning just to make sure I had selected the right pair of skis. Not once did I do this with the Blanks. I knew no matter the conditions I was going to have a good time. While not the lightest ski on the market, they tour very well nailing the balance for a big-mountain ski.

Who Are They Best For?

Anyone looking for the elusive “one quiver ski”. You want something playful and friendly that is going to put a smile on your face every time you go out, no matter the conditions. If you're east of the Rockies this would be your go-to daily ski. Live on the East Coast, the Blank is your powder daydream.

QST Blank Review - Bottom Line

If you're looking for a ski where you don’t have to second guess if it’s the right ski to grab when you head out, look no further than the Salomon QST Blank. Throughout the season I had these in just about every condition imaginable and they didn’t disappoint me once. Eighteen inches of blower pow - float like a butterfly. Foot of PNW hot pow - I love mash potatoes. Chopped up cruddy afternoon - plow through like a freight train. Day after a dump tour in search of fresh - how many laps you got in you? The mountain is your terrain park - let's jib. Hasn’t snowed in a week - how about we rip groomers today.

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